A fun, informative window into the experiences of Arabs in the diaspora.
What does being Arab mean?
Camper offers 12 charming glimpses into the experience of being Arab in the diaspora, organized across the months of the year and accompanied by heartwarming, loose-lined digital illustrations. Whether “skateboarding in the sun, / or waiting for the bus with our headphones on” or creating a comic to spread awareness of Ramadan at school, the characters are “Arab, Arab, Arab, / the whole year through!” In an author’s note, Camper explains that these stories—a family observing a New Year’s Eve tradition of spotting stars with Arabic names; children and a grandmother making maamoul; a father playing his doumbek—are drawn from her and her friends’ experiences. Supplemented with a glossary, the book doesn’t shy away from politics, with references to the Arab Spring and the Palestinian struggle, and avoids universalizing statements about Arab culture. In the glossary, geddo is only “one way to say grandfather in Arabic.” And Camper’s definition of the hijab is nuanced—she notes that “in the Quran, the Islamic sacred book, God advises both male and female Muslims to dress modestly, and this principle is called hijab. There are many stylish and high-fashion designs for Muslim women’s wear.” Illustrations portray Arabs with different skin tones, hair colors, and dress styles. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A fun, informative window into the experiences of Arabs in the diaspora. (Picture book. 7-11)Pub Date: June 14, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5362-1395-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: April 26, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
A rich and inviting celebration of the human search for meaning.
Words and extensive illustrations describe the beliefs, practices and customs of the followers of five major world religions.
People use religion, Wills writes in this German import, to find answers to “life’s big questions.” While “Rituals and community provide everyday life with structure and give people support through difficult times,” belief is personal, and the freedom to choose whether to believe and what to believe is paramount. From the perspective of an effort to understand one another, the text delves into Hinduism, Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam. For each religion, a summary describes the major tenets of faith, the sources of the faith’s teachings, and some major lifestyle practices and rules. Next, a full double-page spread of colorful illustrations offers scenes from daily life for followers of that faith, including rituals such as weddings, worship, and funerals. Finally, isolated images from the art are described in sentences or short paragraphs. The spreads identify regional specifics, such as the Ganges River, the Temple Mount, and the Great Mosque of Djenné, and represent practices across different cultures. The elaborate illustrations are reminiscent of seek-and-find books and provide much content for young eyes to pore over. Eventually, curiosity about what the people are doing will lead slightly older readers to explore the busy pages of explanations, where difficult subjects such as conflict over holy sites in Jerusalem are handled with care. The focus on the actual practices of the faithful makes this volume a valuable key to understanding our world.
A rich and inviting celebration of the human search for meaning. (Nonfiction. 8-11)Pub Date: Sept. 14, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-77147-333-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Owlkids Books
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2018
This visually appealing introduction to Paul and his writing can serve as a useful starting point to help young readers...
Caldecott Medalist Raschka examines the writings of the Apostle Paul, an early missionary of Christianity, with this interpretation of some selected words from his epistles.
A brief first page introduces Paul and his belief in the teachings of Jesus, but that is the only mention of Jesus, and God is never mentioned in the book. The book’s attractive design includes a double-page spread for each of the 14 books of the New Testament of the Christian Bible traditionally attributed to Paul. Each spread is structured as a letter, offering Paul’s advice from the relevant book on how to live a good life. As these recommendations do not specifically refer to Jesus or God, it is not clear from the text that Paul was spreading the new religion of Christianity in his letters. The text consists of a few short quotes from each book, rephrased and condensed, with pertinent chapter and verse references at the bottoms of the pages. While many of the rephrased quotations are familiar passages, other widely known verses attributed to Paul are not included, such as the famous words from 1 Corinthians often read at weddings. The words of Paul are hand-lettered in pleasing arrangements, with related elements such as palm trees and columns integrated within the text and a view of Paul on each spread in the act of writing his letters. Raschka’s loose watercolor illustrations show Paul as an aged man with brown skin and a white beard on the front and back covers; internal illustrations show him in different solid, pastel shades.
This visually appealing introduction to Paul and his writing can serve as a useful starting point to help young readers understand a key figure in the spread of Christianity. (map) (Picture book/religion. 7-10)Pub Date: Sept. 11, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-8028-5494-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Eerdmans
Review Posted Online: July 31, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2018
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